This invention relates to apparatus for moving elongated flexible members and is more particularly concerned with improved apparatus for pulling cables and the like.
Cable pulling apparatus employed heretofore is, in general, complex and expensive. One commercial cable handling system employs a pair of large traction wheels with V-groove peripheral surfaces, the cable being trained about the wheels in a figure eight configuration to permit the application of high tension to the cable when the wheels are rotated. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,273, issued to Berge, a cable pulling apparatus is disclosed in which hydraulically actuated pistons carried by a drum press the cable against a surface of the drum as the drum is rotated. Somewhat similar apparatus is disclosed in French Pat. No. 1,519,588, both apparatuses being rather complex. U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,792, issued to Walton, discloses a wire pulling wheel carrying a series of projections pressing the wire against a serpentine surface as the wheel rotates. This arrangement distorts the wire and is limited in terms of the force which can be applied. Swiss Pat. No. 387,571 discloses a complex cable traction device employing moving chains with cooperating cable-engaging clamp elements. Again, the apparatus is rather complex. U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,406, issued to Flair, discloses a cable drive in which the cable is wrapped several turns about a drum. In the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,758, granted to Kinnicutt, a bendable rod is directed about the periphery of a wheel by a plurality of smaller guide wheels. Neither apparatus fulfills the purposes of the present invention.